+/-, or Plus/Minus, is an American indietronic band formed in 2001. The band makes use of both

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and traditional instruments, and has sought to use electronics to recreate traditional indie rock song forms and instrumental structures. The group has released two albums on each of the American indie labels Teenbeat Records and Absolutely Kosher, and their track "All I do" was prominently featured in the soundtrack for the major film Wicker Park. The group has developed a devoted following in Japan and Taiwan,Transform interview with James Baluyut
and has toured there frequently. Although many artists append bonus tracks onto the end of Japanese album releases to discourage purchasers from buying cheaper US import versions, the overseas versions of +/- albums are usually quite different from the US versions - track lists can be rearranged, artwork with noticeable changes is used, and tracks from the US version can be replaced as well as augmented by bonus tracks.

History

Teenbeat Records owner Mark Robinson had been impressed by a solo track that James Baluyut contributed to a 2000 EP ''Drawn and Quartered'' issued by Versus, an influential indie rock band in which Baluyut played 2nd guitar. Robinson asked Baluyut to record an album's worth of material for release on Teenbeat, which Baluyut did under the name +/-. Although the first +/- album was essentially a Baluyut solo affair, he had formed a touring and recording band in mid-2001 before the album was released, with Versus drummer Patrick Ramos assuming guitar, keyboard and co-lead vocal duties, Chris Deaner on drums, and Margaret McCartney (formerly of

Tuscadero Tuscadero was an American indie rock band from Washington, D.C., one of the most prominent on the TeenBeat Records roster. Biography Melissa Farris and Margaret McCartney met while working at the Zig Zag Cafe in Washington, D.C. They founded T ...

) on bass. McCartney left in 2002 and the other members did not seek a permanent replacement. Since then the band has usually employed Tony Zanella of True Love Always as a tour bassist. Deaner was

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

's tour drummer from early 2007 to spring of 2008, during which time Karl Lundin (Deaner's partner in Loudest Boom Bah Yea) stood in for Deaner while he was on tour with Clarkson. The group left Teenbeat in mid-2006 to sign to Absolutely Kosher, although Teenbeat did issue a long-delayed split EP with

Bloodthirsty Butchers Bloodthirsty Butchers was a long-running indie rock and punk rock band from Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Although little-known in the West, they have contributed to two compilations on the Olympia, Washington based Yoyo label. The band has also re ...

and a retrospective DVD of video clips in 2007. Subsequent to signing with Absolutely Kosher the band's recordings received distribution in central Europe through BB*Island, and the band has since toured Germany and its surrounding nations three times. After the release of Xs on Your Eyes in 2008 the group did not tour the US to any great extent, but concentrated their touring efforts on Asia and continental Europe. In late 2009 the band released the Japan-only EP Thrown into the Fire, and also announced that they had provided the soundtrack for the

multiplayer online game A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

Code of Everand, which Chris Deaner had worked on as a lead programmer.Credits for Code of Everand

Members

* James Baluyut (vocals, guitar, keyboard, producer) * Patrick Ramos (vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums) * Chris Deaner (drums, sampler, banjo, clarinet, vibraphone, video production)

Albums

* ''

Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut Album ''Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut Album'' is the first album released by +/-. It was written, performed and recorded almost entirely by former Versus guitarist James Baluyut, with his Versus bandmate Patrick Ramos playing additional drums on ...

'' (2002 – Teenbeat Records) * '' You Are Here'' (2003 – Teenbeat Records / & Records / WWR Taiwan / BB Island) * '' Let's Build a Fire'' (2006 –

Absolutely Kosher Records Absolutely Kosher Records is an independent California-based record label founded in 1998 in San Francisco by Cory Brown. The label moved to Berkeley, California, Berkeley in 2002 and then to Emeryville, California, Emeryville in October 2006 whe ...

/ & Records / WWR Taiwan / BB Island) * '' Xs on Your Eyes'' (2008 –

/ & Records / BB Island) * '' Jumping the Tracks'' (2014 Teenbeat – Records / & Records)

Compilations

* ''Pulled Punches'' (2010 – Teenbeat Records)

EPs

* ''Holding Patterns'' (2003 – Teenbeat Records / & Records) * ''As Seen on Television'' (2004 – & Records) * ''bloodthirsty butchers vs +/- PLUS/MINUS'' (2005 – Nippon Columbia / Teenbeat Records) * ''Thrown into the Fire'' (2009 – & Records) * Summer 2019: Extended Play (2019 - Ernest Jennings Record Company)

Videos

* ''Self Titled Debut Digital Video Disc'' (2007 – Teenbeat Records)

Soundtrack recordings

* Wicker Park Soundtrack One track, "All I Do" * Code of Everand

MMOG A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are ...

Background music.

References

External links

+/-
(official website) * +/-at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

* +/- releases reviewed withi
Versus
article at

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

* +/- write-u
The Precision Of An Approximation @ ClickTheCity.com Music
at ClickTheCity.com {{DEFAULTSORT:+ - (band) Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Video game composers Musical groups established in 2001